War Is Coming: Can't Live Without The Fire
by A.J Scarlet
Summary: A string of gruesome murders lures J.D back to Jade City after running from the closest thing she had to a family for 4 years. She finds two video game heroes investigating her case, and a whole lot of dead people roaming around. With the help of her estranged friends and badass RE characters she survives a real life outbreak, gains closure, and comes to terms with a dark prophecy.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Resident Evil, its characters, and plot belong to Capcom and other respective owners. J.D, however, and any other character mainly associated to her belong to me. Raybeam and associated characters belong to...um a friend?**

_Oh no, not again!_

_They surround me, these familiar faces_

_Torn out places, torn out faces_

_Will you be there as they rip my heart out,_

_Spill my guts out, tear my soul out?_

_Will you be with me and hold me when I die?_

_-_**Two Down**_**, Bad World**_

**Chapter 1: Nightmares should STAY bloody nightmares!**

Asperous cliff sides stood stubbornly against the grey expanse of ocean and salt. Foam beat softly against the jagged faces. High in the sky the sun struggled to pierce through the shroud of fog, not a strand of heat could break through the frigid barrier. Under her bare feet pebbles and gravel pushed uncomfortably against the soles. There was no color in the world, nothing but various gradients of the shade grey as if someone had torn the life from the canvas. The fog swam wispy around her long hair, and her pied eyes were fixed on the frothy shoreline. Clattering of rocks forced upon each other accompanied her thudding heart like a rhythm to her personal beat. Briny air rushed into her lungs as she took a long sigh, salt tumbled across her taste buds and grated the lining of her throat when all of a sudden a gamy stench crept into the atmosphere.

The ocean roared as it pulled back then rushed forward, crashed along the shoreline and pulled away again. Her eyes lit up like alarms when a tattered form slid onto the sandy gravel. She rushed towards the castaway, the shaggy mess of blond spikes on their head forced a heavy pit in her stomach but she ignored it. Tiny rocks shaved at the sensitive skin of her knees as her weight sifted through the beach debris. Her tiny hands clasped onto broad shoulders and turned the castaway. His pale blue eyes snapped open and icy fingers coiled around her arms immediately.

She tried to back away but he simply used her momentum to sit upright and dug his rotted teeth into her bicep. A shrill cry ripped its way out of her mouth as she slammed her palm into his nose. His head snapped back and she stumbled to her feet away from the deranged stranger. Blood poured freely from her wound, slipped thin and warm through her fingers as she attempted futilely to keep the blood back. All ready the odor of corroding iron and the taste of salt invaded her senses, all but her sense of sight as she gazed at the castaway.

"You –you're supposed to be dead," her voice barely higher than a whisper as the castaway slowly rose to his feet.

His eyes inhumanly pale, his clothes torn, and his flesh leathery and thin as a corpse. An ungodly moan slipped through his blood-coated lips and stretched both arms towards her.

"Lucas, stop!"

He only moaned in response when suddenly someone tugged harshly at her hair. Her head pulled back involuntarily and she met another pair of inhumanly, pale blue eyes on the face of her late brother.

"Jason!"

He opened his mouth, a cavern of blackened skin, and then pulled at her carotid artery with his rotted teeth as a stream of blood washed over his mouth and face.

J.D's eyes flew open to the ceiling of a cheap motel. Her heart beat hard at her eardrums as she took a quivering breath of cigarette smoke and canned ham.

_Bloody hell what was that? As if life itself doesn't torture me enough now my subconscious is kicking my ass? Lovely._

She turned to her side towards the alarm clock on a nightstand. Her skin was cold from the dampness of a night terror's sweat and she let her eyes wander to the black suit hanging limply off a wooden chair. The digital clock blinked 6:00am and the nasal buzzing sent a jolt through her stiff muscles. J.D hid her face against the pillow and smacked the alarm clock to the floor.

"All right! I'm up you cheap bugger," she muttered under her breath and swung her bare legs over the side of a full-sized bed.

Her nose wrinkled to the sterile reek of alcohol and bleach. Her modest, black pumps clicked loudly against the laminated flooring of St. Rafael's Hospital. J.D's eyes darted surreptitiously towards the ER patients, hoping not to recognize a face. A nurse in severely rounded glasses, making her brown eyes pop like a puppy's, fumbled with manila folders stacked precariously in dainty hands. Before the peak of the stack toppled over J.D rushed to save the papers.

"Oh, oh no! Okay, all good," the nurse sighed with relief. "Thanks a bunch."

"Sure. Are you okay?"

The nurse adjusted her glasses higher up the bridge of her nose and used her chin to stabilize the pile of folders. Her eyes then fixated on J.D. Her legs were shapely, a creamy shade of tan like hot mocha. Tendrils of silky, raven-hued hair fell loose from a sophisticated bun and framed her round face, fell just below her eyes. The eyes were a pied swirl of brown and green, like amber and emerald trapped in a deep hurricane, and so captivating to look at it drew the nurse's very breath through her parted mouth.

J.D's plump limps curled into a knowing smirk and the nurse noticed in her eyes, so dazzling, that she was still expecting an answer. "Is there something on my face?"

"What? No! Sorry, I just got a little lost in my thoughts. Yeah, I'm fine. Can I help you?"

"Yes, actually. I'm Agent Sally Mason from the FBI," J.D flashed her badge so quick the nurse blinked exaggeratedly to be sure she saw anything at all. "I'm investigating the attacks that had been springing up this week."

"Oh! The uh, the animal attacks? So the rumors are true about a serial killer in town?"

J.D smiled and leveled a disparaging gaze at her, "Now, you know I'm not at liberty to divulge anything until I have concrete evidence. I need to see the most recent victims."

"Okay, that'll be in the morgue. I'll escort you, that's on the way to the file room."

"Great," J.D quickly hauled the stack of folders into her arms, making sure her fingertips fluttered against the back of the nurse's hand heatedly, and smiled, "After you nurse."

"Uh, yeah the m-morgue is this way."

The nurse led J.D to the morgue and introduced her to Dr. Ortega before she left. Dr. Ortega retrieved the corpse and laid it out on the examination table, "As you see the intestines look to be mostly missing with distinct teeth marks here, here, and here." He pointed his gloved finger to parts of the intestines and gallbladder. "Compared to the other victims, this one is mostly complete."

"So, cannibalism, not animal attacks."

"Unfortunately, I have Officers Valentine and Redfield examining the remains of the first victim in the other room."

J.D's gaze swelled with confusion and looked to Dr. Ortega, "Say that again."

Buzzing, the lights overhead flickered and then blacked out completely. J.D's heart quickly accelerated as a rush of adrenaline flooded her veins. Heavy footfalls marched hurriedly against the laminated floors, and were approaching her. She pulled a tactical USP from her shoulder holster and stalked out the morgue. Rustling of stiff fabric was quickly followed by a moan. Her blood ran cold as she turned and Dr. Ortega screamed as the latest victim gripped his lab coat and bit into the laryngeal prominence in this throat, pulling out thyroid cartilage and muscle. Blood soaked into the white cotton, spilled onto the checkered floors. Both the corpse and Dr. Ortega collapsed to the floor beside the examination table and it proceeded to dig into Dr. Ortega's abdomen as he spasms helplessly.

_Damn, zombies?_ J.D sighed and wandered out to the hall just as two very familiar people settled themselves at the corners of the halls. _Officers Valentine and Redfield as in Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, lovely. That's supposed to be impossible. How the hell did these two get here?_

"Chris, over here," Jill whispered as she pointed towards a soldier in a hood and gas mask. "What does he want?"

"I don't know. We better stay quiet and get these guys out of here."

Just as she was about to take a step towards the two, a shiver caused the skin at the back of her neck to crawl. She spun around in time to watch .40 caliber bullets drill into her right shoulder. J.D quickly fired a round into the soldier's forearm but he managed to land a second shot into her abdomen, the bullet stopping at her eighth rib bone. She fell back and Chris and Jill quickly fired back, while Chris hauled J.D back into the room they occupied earlier.

"What the hell was that about?" Jill blurted as she looked over J.D's wounds.

"Beats me, I thought they were _your_ friends," J.D dug her fingers into the wound on her shoulder with a grimace and pulled out a stained, shiny bullet.

"Is that iron?" Chris handed some bandages to Jill. "What are they doing shooting iron rounds?"

_Shit, I'm the bloody target. Damn it all I've only been back in town for three sodding hours!_ "We can't stay in here," J.D attempted to stand but groaned as her rib-cage protested.

"All right, c'mon then." Chris quickly hauled her left arm over his shoulders and nodded for Jill to clear the hall. Gunfire reverberated through the halls and all three rushed out to escape the south wing of the hospital.

"I can't see anything in this pitch black!" Jill complained as she narrowly maneuvered away from a potted plant.

J.D smirked and nodded towards a patient's room, "Over there, I think that room is empty. I have to get the other bullets out fast."

"It's not that big of a deal. You're not bleeding heavily."

"Just do it, Redfield!"

"How do you know who I am?"

"Get the bloody bullet out of my damn rib-cage _then_ we'll talk."

"Guys, watch out!" Jill screamed.

They arrived to an intersection at the hall and a patient in a backless gown lunged towards Chris. Chris mistakenly let a round fire, the bullet ricochet off the wall as a brief spark, and all three tumbled towards the floor. The zombie crawled towards J.D and before she could pull away it gripped its icy fingers around her ankle and tore its teeth into her calf. Her scream echoed down the hall and Jill finally shot a bullet into its head.

"Over here, target was bitten!" a slight female in a gas mask started to fire at Jill and Chris.

Suddenly a ball of light pierced the darkness and collided with her chest. A young man in a black and white uniform flew down the hall and scooped J.D into his lean arms. "Over here, there's an exit."

"Still on duty huh, Sunshine?" J.D croaked through the pain.

"What are you doing here?"

She deadpanned and looked over his shoulder, "Can't you tell? I'm on vacation you twit."

"You're hurt."

"Nothing gets passed you," she muttered. "Let's just get the hell out of here before I blow the place up my damn self."

"How about we get you somewhere safe first?"

J.D sighed and looked up at the brown eyes behind a black eye-mask, "I really doubt there's a safe place for _any_ of us anymore."

**A/N: Okay a slow start but intros to situations like these are usually serious. That and this (official) version of my J.D leans a little to the darker side so her snappiness takes a while to rear its ugly head. Hope you decided to stick around because this is definitely more plot/action oriented. And as an added bonus, to those familiar with my WTF series with Sarah, you'll actually get to find out what J.D is in this one…probably…maybe…we'll see ^^.**


	2. Chapter 2

_I feel numb_

_I can't come to life_

_I feel like I'm frozen inside_

_Living in a world so cold_

_Wasting away_

_Living in a shell with no soul_

_Since you've gone away_

_**-**_**Three Days Grace**_**, World So Cold**_

**Chapter 2: Darwin is an arsehole... Then I'm the bloody Devil**

"How did you do that?" Chris easily fell into pace with the unexpected stranger. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ra-"

"Put me down, Raybeam," J.D squirmed in his hold but his grip was unyielding.

Raybeam sighed and held her tighter, "You're in bad shape."

"I've had worse. Now let go. I have something to do."

Jill looked back, down the hall they came from, "I'm sure you do Agent Mason, but Raybeam is right. You're too badly wounded to even be walking around."

"You've been poking around my pockets? Rather cheeky of you Officer Valentine." J.D rolled her eyes and looked to Raybeam, "I have to remove these bloody bullets from my rib and shoulder _soon_."

"We have to find somewhere safe first," Raybeam's eyes darted around his surroundings, assessed which path was less dangerous.

"And we have to capture those people that attacked earlier," Chris added. "They could put civilians in danger."

"Not unless we have to," a voice muffled by a gas mask resounded from behind them. Lupo had her assault rifle aimed for Raybeam's head.

Chris and Jill quickly raised their handguns but were mysteriously knocked against the wall by hard blows to their stomach. A shimmer broke the still air in the hallway and Vector materialized before their eyes as his cloaking device shut off, "Don't move."

"Hand the girl over," Lupo commanded in her stern, French accent.

"What do you want with her?" Raybeam asked with as much authority he could slip into his tone.

Lupo's eyes narrowed infinitesimally. J.D smacked his shoulder, "Shield, twit!"

A dome of translucent light stretched around Raybeam and the others to block the bullets Lupo and Vector fired. High-pitched vibrations plagued the hall as bullets bounced off the dome and walls. Raybeam used the domes to lift Chris and Jill down the hall quicker than humanly possible. They rushed into a vacant patient's room and barricaded the door with heavy armchairs. Raybeam laid J.D on the bed and noticed she was bleeding profusely. Her black blazer was torn at the sites in which the shots made impact and soaked in her blood. The deep bite mark on her calf was still gushing blood and the skin was paler than the rest of her mocha complexion.

_Why isn't she healed by now?_

"Lovely work, Sunshine. You just pissed off the USS squad leader and trapped us like rats in this stupid room. I see your superhero skills haven't improved much."

"Take it easy, J.D. At least we weren't hurt."

Jill quirked an eyebrow and turned to Raybeam, "J.D? I thought her name was Sally Mason. That's what it said on her badge."

J.D deadpanned then turned to glare at Raybeam, "Like I said, lovely work." She attempted to stand but gasped when a surge of pain jolted her nerves from the bullet encased in her rib. "Fucking hell! I'm going to _kill_ these USS arseholes!"

"Who is USS?"

J.D looked up and sighed, _That's right, they don't know about Umbrella's real occupation. _"USS stands for Umbrella Security Service."

"Umbrella? What does a pharmaceutical want with _you_?" Chris approached the bed and looked her in the eyes.

"Hell should I know, Redfield?! I've been in town for three hours max and all ready I have five sodding iron bullets drilled into my bones. Wanna ask another question? I warn you, I'll probably just answer in the same brassed off tone and I don't believe you'd appreciate that. Then again I could be wrong and you actually _enjoy_ being yelled at for asking bloody _stupid_ questions."

"J.D, please calm down... Wait, did you say iron bullets?" Raybeam blinked in confusion.

"Well it's about bleeding time you noticed. I know I've been gone for four years but how could you-"

"Okay! _Okay_, it's been a while."

J.D scoffed and hobbled off the bed to a crash cart. Various metal and plastic medical tools banged as she fumbled through the drawers. Chris and Jill exchanged puzzled looks and turned to Raybeam.

"We have to get rid of the USS in the building," Jill pointed out.

Just as Raybeam opened his mouth J.D let out an agonized groan as she dug metal tweezers into her shoulder, "I'll take care of that." A shiny bullet bathed in her blood emerged from her wound and fell to the ground with a heavy _ping_. "Besides, as of three minutes and seventeen seconds ago I have a bleeding ache to kill them all. If you really care about these people you'll be evacuating the building and putting anyone bitten under quarantine."

"Quarantine?" Jill blurted.

"What gives you the right to call this a quarantine situation?" Chris' tone lowered to a threatening, demanding bass.

"The fact anyone bitten by the living dead is officially infected, and destined to the same fate."

Everyone's faces lit up in alarm to her somber revelation. Jill looked to J.D's leg with a sigh, "But _you_ were bitten."

"All the more reason I have to leave you and find those USS wankers."

"I'm not leaving you behind," Raybeam quickly puffed his chest and his eyes glimmered with conviction.

All of a sudden the door burst into splinters and fire with a grand _boom_. All four looked up from the ground at the burly Beltway, "Knock, knock."

"Oh for the love of Gamikai! Can't you buggers give me a break!" J.D threw the nearest scalpel to the glass visor of his gas mask.

Beltway dodged her attack but Chris immediately took the moment to tackle him out of the flaming doorway. Raybeam dashed out of the room to help and shot orbs of light from his gloved hands. The orbs struck Beltway on the forehead then Chris pulled him to his feet and slammed him against the wall.

"What are you doing here?!"

Beltway reached for a combat knife but Jill shot the weapon out of his hands, "Answer the question."

"Our orders are classified."

"What do you want with her?" Raybeam asked.

Gunfire resounded from around the corner and the trio took cover in the patient's room. "Where'd she go?" Chris blurted when he realized J.D was missing.

"We should focus on us first," Jill fired blindly over the bed.

Raybeam's eyes narrowed and a translucent bubble enveloped him. He flew out the room into the hail of bullets and shot orbs at Beltway and Bertha.

Blood left a bright trail down J.D's clothes as she limped down the hall, her fingers buried into her abdomen as she felt around for the bullet in her rib bone. _Bloody hell, how did I let those twits draw first blood? Now I'm stuck tracking down those hunting for my sorry arse in the middle of a possible outbreak. How the buggers land in the real world to begin with?_

J.D finally found a grip around the bullet and gasped shallowly as she pried. Her pulse accelerated and forced blood to pour heavier between her dainty fingers. The pain was sharp, traveled piercingly through her body as her flesh squelched under her careless effort. Eventually the bullet came free and she tossed it to the laminated ground with unnecessary force before she stumbled back against a wall and hit her head. J.D slid down to the floor, the blood on her shoulder smeared the wall behind her, and looked to the gash on her calf. Her veins were dark around the wound site and her skin was impossibly paler than moments ago. _The virus is traveling a bit quicker than it should. Bloody iron. Whomever the USS is working for has knowledge of my weaknesses. I better find some antiviral before the T-virus makes too much damage for me to recover from_.

She stood up with a groan, her palms were clammy and her legs felt shaky. _I bet one of the lot carry antiviral, at least I hope. Who's the hunted now? _A feral smirk colored her face maliciously as her eyes lit up to an eerie gold with black infecting the white of her eyes.

After a single step forward a distinct moan shivered up her spine. Her blood had called to nearby zombies like nip to cats. Some zombiefied patients and staff shuffled towards her but she rolled her eyes and limped forward. _Wouldn't want to spoil the fun for the others. _J.D gripped her gun tightly in blood drenched fingers as she stalked the halls. Gradually the hospital started to acquire a stench better suited for a cemetery as the T-virus ravaged every fragile person in reach. She found herself in the pediatric wing when screaming cut into the thick silence. Curious, she walked towards the source and found children behind glass doors cowering under their beds from zombies.

The zombie dropped to his stomach and started to crawl towards them. They shrieked and shimmied farther away from the zombie until there was no room left. J.D took a deep breath of the pungent fear that salted the air, peppered with decay brought in from the T-virus, and then walked away. _Survival of the fittest is kind to no one._

**A/n: yeah... That just happened. Reviews would be greatly appreciated. Keeps me motivated to update.**


	3. Chapter 3

_They need you buried deep_

_The secrets that you keep are ever ready_

_Are you ready?_

_Spinning infinity, boy_

_The wheel is spinning me_

_It's never-ending, never-ending_

_same old story_

_**-**_**Foo Fighters**_**, The Pretender**_

**Chapter 3: This is crazy! What is going on here?!**

Beltway tossed a grenade to Raybeam's shield, but it only bounced back towards him and he ducked for cover. Bertha kept firing at Chris and Jill with a fully automatic rifle. The chaos of the gunfight rang loudly through the halls, and slowly patients and staff shuffled towards the battle. Their eyes were abnormally pale blue. Their flesh was an ashen white with distinct chunks of accelerated rotting or bites.

"What's wrong with them?" Raybeam called out.

"Why don't you ask them yourself?" Beltway let a grenade roll towards the shield and it finally shattered like glass.

Caught completely off guard, Raybeam turned his attention back to Beltway as his enormous fist collided with his face. Raybeam slid down the hall closer to the group of people and Beltway ordered Bertha to disengage with the others. Chris and Jill fired desperately to injure the soldiers, but they escaped with minimal damage. The trio looked back to the group shuffling slowly towards them.

"Is this what she meant by the living dead?" Chris mused aloud.

"Could be. We can't risk getting bitten. We have to run. There's too many of them," Jill fired into their legs and shoulders but it hardly slowed them down.

"C'mon. We have to find J.D!" Raybeam used his shield to create a barrier down the hall.

He waited for Chris and Jill to get enough distance. The zombies pounded against the translucent barrier in a chorus of bass drums and miserable moaning. Finally Raybeam refocused on leaving the zombies behind and dropped the shield. He flew as swift as the wind and gripped Chris and Jill by the wrist as he passed. They suddenly floated a few inches from the ground and flew down the halls with him. As they maneuvered through the maze of corridors they witnessed the slaughter the infection left in its wake.

Corpses dug greedily into the bodies of medical staff or patients. Some zombies rolled lamely in wheelchairs and others stood idly waiting for a living person to devour. Blood stained the once white, meticulous halls and bodies still gaping open littered the floors. Raybeam burst through double doors and flew up the flight of stairs. He stopped when he found the X-ray room deserted.

Chris and Jill touched ground again and Raybeam leaned against the nearest wall with his face in his hands, "Now what do I do? This building is huge to be looking for one small woman."

"How? What did you do?" Jill asked.

"I can transfer energy to anyone I touch so they can tap into my flying abilities. You guys can track J.D?"

"Not until you explain what the hell is going on. Who is she? Who is J.D _really_? And how did she know this infection was a virus?"

"All I can tell you is J.D is a very skilled, very _good_ person that has... Issues to deal with. And she's really smart, prodigy level intelligence, so she probably must've figured it out somehow while we were in here."

"But what does a company that produces consumer products, food, and cosmetics need its own militia for?"

"Don't you see Jill?" Chris sighed as his grip around the samurai edge tightened. "There's more to Umbrella than they want us to know. We need to get to the bottom of this. We gotta tell the Captain."

"Right," Jill pulled out a radio. "Captain Wesker? It's Jill. Come in, over."

"I can hear you Jill. What have you found out about the victims?"

"Captain Wesker, these are definitely not animal attacks, or just cannibalism."

"Oh? What is it then?"

"We aren't too sure yet, but the dead are coming back to life through some kind of infection. We may have reason to suspect Umbrella is behind this."

"Umbrella? Hm. We're going to need evidence to be certain of their involvement. You said the dead are coming back to life?"

"I know it sounds ridiculous but it's the truth. We're currently surrounded by patients and staff infected with this sickness. We may need to quarantine the hospital, and back up. Umbrella soldiers are in the building looking for someone posing as Agent Sally Mason of the FBI."

"Then what's her real name so we can pull up as much information as we can."

Raybeam's form quickly tensed as their eyes darted to him. His hands grew clammy and his heartbeat accelerated. _Oh shit did I just get her into trouble? No, but they're good guys and she needs protection from those soldiers. _"Jasmine Davenport."

Jill repeated her name and Wesker sighed, almost sounded frustrated. "All right, I'll have Bravo conduct research on her. Meanwhile I'll be sending the rest of Alpha team to assist with the quarantine and securing Jasmine from Umbrella. Stay sharp, over and out."

_What did I just do? What else was I _supposed_ to do? All I know is that J.D needs help, and I need to find her. These Umbrella soldiers don't play around. Well, then, neither do I._

Raybeam sighed and touched the communicator to his ear, "Operator, are you there?"

"Hey, Ray, what is it?"

"Can you tap into St. Rafael's hospital's security cameras from where you're standing?"

"Let me see." After a brief pause Operator sighed, "I could if the building had power. Aren't the back-up generators working?"

"They have generators? No, I guess they're not working."

Jill rolled her eyes and Chris tossed Raybeam a confused look, "The USS had to tamper with the generators to keep this whole place dark until they capture your friend."

Jill nodded, "If we expect to save anyone from those soldiers or the virus we need visibility."

"Right, Operator, where are the generators?"

"Basement level. Once you get those functioning again I'll be able to hack into the security feed, but it will take a little while. Mind telling me what you're searching for?"

"It's J.D."

"What?!"

Jill and Chris exchanged concerned looks.

"Yeah, I know, she's back."

"Why is she here?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but yeah, please find her. She's weak and may be captured by armed forces. Oh, and brace yourself with what you are about to see. Apparently a virus had spread and the people are acting as if they were mindless zombies. I don't have time to explain, but we need to find her, please try."

A slight pause, "Ok, I'll try."

"Thank you."

Chris looked at Raybeam and folded his arms, "You got a team of your own too?"

"Something like that." Raybeam looked at Chris in the eye, "It will take some time before she gets through. We better get moving."

"So, what's the plan?" Jill asked Chris.

"We help Raybeam get the generators running and rescue survivors. While also helping him find his friend."

"Multitasking, all right."

Both Raybeam and Chris stepped forward as if to lead then both stopped to look at each other slightly embarrassed. Chris scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Why don't I go first and you cover us from the back, you have the force-field."

"Uh, all right."

The trio opted to simply walk down the seven floors to the basement to rescue survivors along the way. Raybeam held an orb of white light to create visibility among the darkened halls. Unfortunately the weather was surprisingly opaque so even the minimal sunlight leaking through the windows was not enough. Chris lagged so Raybeam would step into pace with him and turned to the incarnation of a comic book hero, "So how did you end up with powers like that? What are you?"

"Human, definitely human if that's what you're asking."

"Humans don't fly or shoot light from their hands," Jill prodded.

"I... had a bad accident in a lab when I was kid."

"Oh."

"And your friend?" asked Chris. "Is she like you?"

"Um, that's something you should ask _her_."

By floor five a scream reverberated against the blood-stained walls to them. Chris immediately ran towards the source without a second thought.

"Chris!" Jill called out then turned to Raybeam hastily. "Get those generators running. He needs back up."

"On it!"

Jill nodded in appreciation and ran after Chris. Raybeam decided to entrust the survivor's fate to them for the moment and flew down towards the basement. Surprisingly the door to the basement was open. He stepped forward cautiously and through various machines noticed three bodies on the ground. _Damn it. _He traipsed around the security guard's corpses, wandered deeper into the deafening silence until he saw the generators with an odd device with a keypad attached to them.

He tapped his earpiece again, "Ashley? I found the generators but there's something attached to them. I think it's what they used to put the generators out of commission."

"Okay, use your handheld so I can see what I'm dealing with here."

"Right." Raybeam pulled out a PDA to scan the device and sent the image to his headquarters.

"Looks like some sort of EMP with a pass code system. Easy enough. So where are the others that were with you before?"

Raybeam kept the PDA held up to the EMP so she could crack the pass code. "Officers Redfield and Valentine had to help a survivor. Don't worry, they look like they can handle themselves."

"If you said _J.D _was weakened, do they really stand a chance?"

"We better hurry then!"

"Okay okay, done!"

The device gave off static and smoke as if her tampering caused it to short circuit. Raybeam flipped a switch and the generators roared to life. "Great! Now you can tap into the cameras."

"All ready on it."

Raybeam stood to turn when suddenly claws swiped for his face. He used his superior speed to evade the strike, narrowly. He faced his attacker; one of the corpses had sprung back to life but looked different from the others. His fingers and toes had sharp claws, his flesh looked red and like it was sweating blood, and its eyes were luminescent red. The other corpses rose in the exact same fashion and dashed towards Raybeam at once.

**A/n: Yep another one. I think I might set up a schedule of when I'll be posting chapters for this story just to avoid long hiatus periods like the other stories, and to light a fire under my arse to keep me updating. Then again reviews are good enough motivators all on their own ^^ Anyways, thanks Toasty and The Darkness Dragon for reviewing. Really brought a smile to my face and encouraged me to update as soon as possible... Would've been sooner if my RaybeamUniverse consultant wasn't busy. Pardon any grammar mistakes, I was too impatient to proofread.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Wanna join me?_

_Come and play_

_But I might shoot you in your face_

_Bombs and bullets will do the trick_

_What we need here is a little bit of panic_

_Do you ever wanna catch me?_

_Right now I'm feeling ignored_

_So can you try a little harder?_

_I'm really getting bored_

_**-**_**Agnete Kjolsrud**_**, Get Jinxed**_

**Chapter 4: Science CAN Be Cool!**

It dashed forward and caught Raybeam off guard. He threw himself to the dusty floor and rolled to his feet. _Didn't expect that. The zombies on the upper floors aren't fast like these guys. _Raybeam maneuvered around the first zombie's swipe and ducked under a second zombie's lunge as he struggled to come to grips with the situation. He backed himself into a corner as he examined the three zombies. They rushed forward and a translucent bubble immediately shielded Raybeam from their assault. He used the shield as a ram to push his way into the clear and spun on his heels with hands glowing. The orbs knocked the three zombies back, one of which had his head splattered from the orb's force, and the two remaining Crimson Heads sprung to their feet.

_What? _Raybeam's eyes narrowed and he shot their heads.

"Ray, are you okay? I heard commotion," Ashley's voice resounded from his earpiece through the cool basement.

"Yeah," he sighed and turned to walk away as he caught his breath. "Ashley, this infection is like nothing I have ever seen before."

"You don't think Tony is behind this?"

"I don't think so. J.D mentioned an organization called Umbrella and Officer Redfield thinks there's more to them than he thought."

"Umbrella?"

"Yeah," he pulled the door open and peeked around the corner cautiously. "Ashley, can you-"

"Do research on Umbrella?"

"Can you?"

"I'll check it out."

"Okay, but first find J.D. She's a priority right now."

"Okay, you should go check on the others."

"All ready on it."

"Okay, hurry."

Raybeam looked up the empty space of the stairwell and flew quickly towards the fifth floor. He stepped into the hall and his heart nearly beat out of his chest. The corridor was infested with a mob of zombies. Gunshot holes in the walls clued him to the fact Chris and Jill were there recently, and the dead girl on the floor with her pale eyes wide open and a bullet hole in the forehead told him they were still alive. _Great, how am I supposed to get around this?_

He walked slowly towards a supply closet and tapped his earpiece, "Officer Valentine, Officer Redfield? Come in."

White noise cleared to Chris' voice, "Raybeam? I see you got the generators working. Any news on your friend?"

"No, my operator is still trying to connect to the cameras. Like I said, it might take a while. Where are you guys?"

"We found cover in a lab of some kind towards the east side. Jill and I are running low on ammunition and we have survivors. We can't just fight our way out of here."

Raybeam closed his eyes as he took in a shaky breath, "I see. Okay, I'm on my way."

He opened the door to the hall and walked cautiously down an empty hall away from the mob. Raybeam glided down the hall, using his flight to cut noise and his chances of getting spotted to a minimum. Patients trapped within their own rooms were either pounding against the doors; all ready turned into infectious monsters, or were still unconscious in their beds unaware of the chaos around them. Just ahead of an intersection a small group of zombies drummed their fists against the doors to a glass room full of crying infants. _You gotta be kidding me! _He hid around a corner to asses any nearby threats and tapped his earpiece.

"Ashley, any luck with J.D?"

"Still just a bunch of a static. For a hospital their security is heavily encrypted."

"What about Officer Redfield's team? The captain mentioned he'd send back up, I wouldn't mind having their help right now."

"Uh, I don't know Ray. You wanted me to tap into their communications link?"

"Just wondering. I have some of those zombies trying to break into a nursery full of babies."

"Oh no!" she gasped. "You can't get them all out alone."

"No. I guess I'll just have to shoot them down and barricade the nursery until help arrives. Just focus on J.D."

"Okay, if you say so. _Be careful_."

"I will."

Raybeam's hands were alight with his special brand of radioactive energy and stepped from around the corner. He took special attention to aim for their heads and watched them all fall like boards to the ground. Their blood dripped off the glass as he looked at the infants beyond the window. _Damn this_.

"Bloody hell!" J.D growled under her breath as she examined the gunshot wounds on her shoulder and ribcage. _I should've healed by now_. She ripped the surgical tape sitting on a porcelain sink with her teeth and covered the injuries with gauze. _Iron doesn't delay my regeneration for _this_ long. Must be the sodding T-virus then._

J.D buttoned up her dress shirt and neglected the torn blazer she dropped on the floor earlier as she stepped out of the bathroom. Since power had returned to the hospital she took the chance to look over her wounds, obviously not pleased with what she saw. As she slipped the last button through the cotton loop a zombie shuffled towards her. She aimed her gun for its head with a frustrated sigh and fired. Its head snapped back sharply after the initial _bang_ as blood tainted the wall beside it and fell back with a thud. "I'm so not in the mood for you buggers."

She had long abandoned her heels and limped down the hall. Her bare feet pattered lightly as she walked, blood seeped through bandages around her calf, and she ignored the cool of the laminated floors. J.D wandered around aimlessly, observed the zombies stand idly or tear into an unfortunate victim on occasion. Suddenly hurried footsteps made their way towards her as she was about to arrive to an intersection of the hall. She gripped her gun tightly and waited, _Not USS apparently, but the scent is vaguely familiar._

A startled cry pierced the putrid air followed by the sound of flesh and bone colliding with the ground. J.D walked out to the open and saw a familiar, clumsy woman with broken glasses nursing a twisted ankle.

"Agent Mason!" J.D looked past her towards the group of Crimson Heads sprinting towards the nurse. "Sally, help! I think I twisted my ankle!"

_That's unfortunate. _She sighed and unloaded the clip of her gun, "Not enough bullets to go around, dearie. I have more important things to worry about."

"Sally!"

J.D turned the other way and limped down the corridor while the nurse's scream cut through the chaos of famished Crimson Heads. _I have to take it easy for when I run into the USS. In this state I can't afford to exert myself too much. _"But damn isn't it boring to take it easy," she sighed.

She felt her core temperature burn just underneath her skin and a sudden dizzy spell nearly knocked her to the ground. _I have to play it smart if I expect to steal an antiviral from one of those Umbrella dogs. _J.D gripped the wall for support when she finally thought of a strategy she could play out to her advantage. Her eyes were fixed on a black sign drenched in blood when a mischievous smirk found its way across her lips. "Come and get it you bleeding wankers! I'm waiting!" she sang loudly towards the ceiling and proceeded towards her left.

A chorus of startled groans followed behind her, and she caught a whiff of gunpowder and boot polish. _Here they come. _Ahead of her a large group of zombies stumbled around up-turned gurneys and wheelchairs. They caught on to the scent of her fresh blood and immediately turned to her like ravenous animals. "Bugger," she whispered and dashed into the nearest hall away from them.

They were persistent as they rushed behind her. J.D struggled to pick up her pace and felt the tingle of danger run up her spine as one of them reached for her. She grabbed an abandoned IV stand and swung the metal rod to the zombies closest to her. They fell from the power of the impact across their faces then she shot their heads with impeccable accuracy. A hail of gunfire mowed the rear of the group down and J.D recognized Four Eyes and Specter thinning out the herd of zombies. They made eye contact and Specter set his laser sight to her good leg. _Shit!_

She dove for cover behind a gurney just before he fired and groaned in discomfort from the jolt of pain when she landed on her wounded shoulder. J.D steeled her resolve and bolted towards a set of glass doors. She locked herself in and her vision blurred as she staggered towards a bed inside a cylindrical machine. J.D punched at the glass around the bed until it shattered, seemingly frustrated, and slumped to the floor. Specter kicked at the door as Four Eyes demolished the rest of the zombies left standing.

"It's reinforced glass with an electronic lock," he announced.

"I'll handle this," Four Eyes turned to the lock and J.D leaned onto a control panel near the bed.

While Four Eyes hacked into the electric lock J.D's dainty fingers fumbled over the screws to the control panel. Her vision grew hazier by the second; _I'm running out of time. Screw it! _She punched her fingers through the metal cover and pried the panel open.

"Did you see that?!" Specter blurted.

"No, obviously not. Let me concentrate."

J.D pulled out a mess of wires just when the lock beeped and released the latch. Four Eyes closed the door behind her and Specter rushed in on J.D with guns to her head, "That's enough. You're wounded and locked inside with no escape. You're coming with us," he ordered.

"I don't exactly fancy blind dates, sorry mate."

Four Eyes shook her head and approached carefully, "Umbrella requires you alive and well. You don't have much time and we have an antidote. If you cooperate you'll live."

"And if I don't? Seems to me you don't have the clearance to shoot me dead."

"Shoot you dead no, but we can shoot until you fall unconscious," Specter added.

"Ah, don't fancy mid-morning naps either. Waste of time they are."

"Do it," Four Eyes ordered.

J.D smirked and just as Specter fired his rifle instantaneously combusted. J.D's figure darkened and disintegrated into a cloud of black smoke that swept through Four Eyes and squeezed through the cracks of the door. Specter dropped the rifle and used his handgun to aim. J.D re-materialized from the cloud of smoke then turned to face them with smirk and blue vial in her hand, "Room with an open Hyperbaric Chamber. If you Umbrella dogs weren't so desperate to please the higher ups you would've noticed. Quick science lesson, what does fire need to thrive? Oxygen, an accelerant-" J.D pointed her index finger to the air and let a visible current dance on her fingertip, "and a spark."

She tapped the glass with her finger and the walls ignited with a roar.

**A/N: Slippery one isn't she? So yeah I'm posting today to make up for missing…a week, two? Ah who's keeping count? Anyways, I decided on updating every Sunday, or every other Sunday if my muse gets finicky, but after having brainstorming with my partner in crime about where the story is headed that shouldn't be a problem. Hope you all liked enough to leave me some oh-so-gratifying-encouraging reviews. If not well, that's your prerogative now isn't it?**


	5. Chapter 5

_You see my mind is open wide_

_The sound of my bleeding I'm needing_

_I try to hold on to just one lie_

_I stand up on the wall I'm building_

_Out of my mind I walk the line_

_I'm losing now I'm sinking too fast_

_Moving on just one more time_

_I'm lost and now I'm sinking again_

-**Haji's Kitchen**_**, Lost**_

**Chapter 5: Damn It! Just Let Me Help You, Is That So Hard?**

Sparks jumped from the metal doors as he welded them to the windows with a sword of light. The heat melted the steel onto the aluminum window panes slowly while the infants cried from lack of a meal or fright. Raybeam stood back to quickly examine his handiwork before teleporting to the hall. _They should be safe for a while. Zombies can't break through metal, right?_

His earpiece came to life with static and Jill's voice gradually emerged from the white noise, "Raybeam, are you there?"

"Yes Officer Valentine. I just had to do something real quick before I came to get you."

"Don't worry, we understand. But we're still trapped in the testing lab and the group outside seems to be growing."

"I'm on my way!"

Raybeam rushed down the halls at top speed, avoiding infected whenever he ran into them. Ashley's voice appeared small and concerned, "You took care of the nursery?"

"Yes, I'm on my way to the officers now."

"Okay, good! I have visual on J.D."

"You do! Where is she?"

"Seventh level. Looks like she barricaded herself in the diagnostic team's office to catch her breath. She doesn't look too well, Ray."

"She's running out of time," he muttered gravely.

"J.D's going to turn into one of those-"

"No she's not. We'll get to her in time."

"Okay. Then you better hurry."

Raybeam ran into a few zombies closing in on a patient covered in bites and bruises. His hands immediately lightened up and the light extended into the shape of a broadsword. _This is getting annoying. _He rushed up behind the zombies and swiped at their necks with practiced precision. The patient sighed in relief and slumped to the floor. His eyes were pale and his ashen skin was soaked with perspiration.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, better. You're Raybeam right? What's going on here?"

"Let's get you somewhere safe first," Raybeam extended his hand to help the man up and felt he barely had the strength to stand.

He opted to fly towards the testing labs instead and watched the man cough violently from his peripheral. _Being sick isn't enough, now these people have to deal with a virus killing them off? Whoever is behind this mess is going to answer to me._ Raybeam arrived to the correct hall to the lab and pressed his back to the corner of a wall. Zombies pounded onto the steel doors as if they could smell the others in there. He turned to the sick man and let him sit on the floor, "Stay here and keep quiet. I have to deal with this."

The man nodded silently and Raybeam rushed towards the crowd with a force-field around him. He knocked most of the group down like bowling pins and turned to fire orbs at their heads. Few of them stood and attempted to grab at the collar of his black cotton jacket, but he spun around in time and struck their neck with the side of his hand. The light surrounding his hand allowed his attack to slice clean through their necks then shot orbs at the remaining stragglers. As the mob of zombies was cleared, screaming burst inside the lab followed by a gunshot.

Raybeam broke down the doors to find Chris holding a smoking gun towards Jill, and a woman with a newly formed bullet hole in her head at Jill's feet. A four year old girl shook like a leaf at a nearby corner, away from the gruesome scene. "What just happened?" Raybeam blurted.

"The survivor turned on Jill."

Jill sighed and turned sympathetically towards the frightened child, "It's okay now."

Chris examined the corpse with a remorseful shake of his head, "She was bitten when we found her. We weren't sure how long ago and assumed we could get her well before she-"

_Is that going to happen to J.D if we don't find a cure in time?_

Jill picked the girl up and propped her in her arms, "We have to get to the roof. Brad made contact a few minutes ago to inform us he and the rest of Alpha are on their way."

"He's flying here?" Raybeam asked with a hopeful pitch in his tone.

"He's the pilot."

"Good! I know where J.D is too."

"That's good," Chris loaded his last clip and pulled the slide to set a bullet in the chamber. "We can get her and take her to headquarters for questioning."

"Uh, right. Let's just get these survivors to the roof. I have someone waiting out in the hall."

Just as they stepped out to the hall the man peeked from around the corner and waved. Before Raybeam opened his mouth Ashley blurted into the earpiece, "Ray, USS found her! She's in no condition to do it alone!"

He looked to Chris and Jill and they nodded, "We can take care of the survivors. You bring her back in one piece."

Raybeam nodded in understanding and flew down the hall.

J.D sat behind a desk, spinning on the swiveling chair as she stared numbly at the ceiling. _Could be a spell. Maybe some dimension altering invention, Gamikai knows I've seen some weird machines in my time._ She looked down to the bruise the nine-point syringe left on her arm. _And all this time I was told _I_ was the earth's end. Guess they were wrong._ J.D sighed and stopped spinning abruptly when she caught the scent of USS. "Might as well go out with a bang," she sighed.

She rose slowly to her feet and walked towards the glass walls with a smirk just when four of the remaining Wolfpack members lined up before her.

"Get out," Lupo growled.

J.D bowed courteously and sauntered out of the office. Immediately Beltway went to hit her jaw with the butt of his rifle but she caught his strike and glared malevolently with gold eyes, "That's not very nice."

She pulled the rifle from his grip, sideswiped him with the butt of his rifle, and flipped over him to use the burly man as a meat shield all in the blink of an eye. The others fought the instinct to shoot for Beltway's sake. She propped the barrel of his rifle on his utility belt and fired. The Wolfpack ducked for cover and J.D pushed Beltway down the hall before she ran down the opposite end.

"Command, we're in pursuit of the objective!" Bertha announced.

"Don't let her escape. She is a valuable asset to the corporation. Failure is _not_ an option."

"Understood Command," Lupo waved towards Beltway and Bertha to flank left.

J.D growled under her breath when her legs refused to move as fast as she wanted. Her eyes darted around for a suitable space to fight and dashed towards the cafeteria. Just as she burst through the double doors Vector followed behind her and fired. J.D slid on top of a round table and landed on her rear, the table toppled over offering appropriate cover from the bullets. She pulled out her gun and noticed the ache on her shoulder vanished. Quickly, she ripped at the gauze around her calf and noticed the gaping bite mark was reduced to a shallower gash. _Spoke too soon, but I'm still regenerating rather slowly. Bugger. I have to separate one of them from the pack if I want information on this chaos._

She peeked over the table to assess their formation just before Lupo fired for her head. _Just those two, so the others are looking for a second entrance, lovely. _J.D popped up from behind the table and fired, nicked Lupo twice on her shoulder and Vector took a stray bullet to the rib-cage. She smirked just as she dove behind the buffet counter and darted into the kitchen. Bertha lunged from out of nowhere with her machete. J.D quickly gripped her wrist and her back crashed hard against the wall from Bertha's momentum. Just as Beltway took aim for J.D's torso an orb of light collided with his hands.

Raybeam flew in and knocked Beltway against the industrial freezer, "J.D!"

She directed her attention to Bertha and her body disintegrated into black smoke. The smoke seeped into Bertha's gas mask. In panic, Bertha dropped her weapon and scratched at her mask. Raybeam looked on in horror when Lupo and Vector finally rushed into the kitchen. He set up a force-field to protect himself from gunfire.

"J.D, what are you doing?" Bertha stopped struggling and her visor was glowing luminescent gold before she waved a two-finger salute and ran off. "J.D!"

Lupo nudged Vector, "Where is _she_ going!"

Vector nodded and chased after Bertha. Lupo fired at Raybeam's shield and he tapped his earpiece, "Operator?"

"What in the world did she-"

"You still have visual on her?"

"Yes, but-"

"Where?"

Ashley sighed, "Looks like she's going downstairs towards the ER."

Raybeam ignored Lupo and flew the same direction Bertha escaped to. He caught up to Vector and fired an orb to his back. Vector dove towards the ground last minute and fired. The bullet drilled through Raybeam's right arm and broke his concentration. He slid across the floor into a wall with a groan and used his superior reflexes to jump towards the opposite wall for cover. The bullets created a haze of dust where Raybeam sat seconds ago. _Shit that was close. I don't have time for this!_

He stood up, his arm throbbing from the wound and blood loss, then took off down the hall. Raybeam lost Vector fairly quickly and heard Bertha's boots thud loudly in the stairwell. He flew down and intercepted her somewhere between the second and third floor. "J.D!"

"I don't give you much credit. You've wised up a little haven't you, Sunshine?"

"What are you doing?"

"Something I picked up over the years," she shrugged then the gold bioluminescence of her eyes mutated to a red hue. "Thanks to you."

"Me? What did-"

Shots were fired from the floors above, Specter and Four Eyes rushed down the stairs and J.D sighed, "Don't die easily do they? Irritating gits."

"We can take them down together!"

"You mean like old times? Sorry Sunshine, that chapter of my life has been done a long time ago."

"What?"

Smoke was expelled from Bertha's gas mask and her body fell limply while the cloud rushed down to the first floor, the bullets merely passed through without effect. J.D disappeared.

"Damn it!" Raybeam punched at the railing and fired orbs at the USS soldiers.

Specter jumped back before the orb could come in contact with his mask, "Target escaped the building in a cloud of smoke. What the hell does Umbrella have us hunting?"

"Damn! There's no point remaining in the building. Regroup," Lupo's voice blared loudly in their communicators.

"What about the other ones?" Four Eyes aimed her rifle for Raybeam's head but he used a shield to protect himself.

"We have our orders, Four Eyes. Regroup."

"Affirmative." Four Eyes loaded a vial into her rifle and shot at Raybeam.

The round ricochet off his shield and the dart embedded itself on the wall, releasing a hazy red gas. Suddenly numerous groans resounded like a loud roar and Crimson Heads burst through the doors near Raybeam. USS vanished quickly and just as he began to fight a burly man with a powerful handgun and another in a bandanna fired at the zombies from the seventh floor.

The burly man popped a zombie's head open with a single shot and shouted down the stairwell, "You must be Raybeam."

"And you are?"

"Barry from Alpha Team. Find your friend?"

"No, she escaped."

"Then how about we regroup? No use sticking around here."

His partner in the bandanna quickly stabbed a combat knife through the temple of a Crimson Head and shot down three others, "I'll say! C'mon!"


	6. Chapter 6

_They say the city is safe_

_The keepers of faith_

_The bullet is safe for one and day_

_Eclipsed by the one_

_Don't bother to run_

_The target is on your back_

_You're done_

_**-**_**30 Seconds to Mars**_**, Anarchy in Tokyo**_

**Chapter 6: Things Just Got Serious**

Forest slapped a heavy hand on Raybeam's shoulder, nearly knocking Raybeam off balance, "Not bad for a guy in a Robin mask."

Kevin, Rebecca, Brad, and Edward escorted survivors the others had rounded up into the helicopters with great care, like they were all porcelain dolls just about to shatter. Raybeam sighed, "Yeah, I guess."

"Huh? Is this about that friend of yours, the one that got away," Forest couldn't help the smirk after his second half of his sentence.

"Lay off, Speyer," Chris nudged Forest's arm then turned to Raybeam. "I don't think we would have had this much luck finding survivors without your help."

"Don't mention it."

"Captain Wesker gave us a new order; help you to track J.D down before the USS does."

Raybeam's eyes lit up infinitesimally, "Really? How?"

"Chris, you should see this," Jill called out with Barry and Enrico crowded around her, reading the tablet from over her shoulder. Forest, Chris, and Raybeam approached Jill and she sighed, "This is all the information we could dig up on J.D. Raybeam, can you confirm any of it?"

"I can try."

"Wow, hospitalized, orphaned, and her younger brother went missing all within the same year? That's tough," Forest muttered somberly.

Raybeam sighed, "Yeah, she was only seven."

"That's not the most interesting part," Enrico pointed to a specific line on the digital documents. "The day she was hospitalized she was taken for severe blood loss and nearly seventy percent of her skin was missing. She was flayed alive."

"Ouch," Barry muttered.

"And the next morning she was completely recovered without significant medical attention according to these news clippings from Forks, Washington."

"Is that why Umbrella wants her?" Jill inquired.

Chris shook his head, "I don't understand. If she can heal from something like that why didn't she recover from a bite and bullet wounds?"

"Because they were iron bullets," Raybeam pulled away from the group and crossed his arms. "Large concentrations of iron slow down her healing abilities."

"Then that means," Jill looked over the document once more, "Umbrella knows how to take her down. Someone she knows closely enough to have that kind of knowledge must be helping them."

Enrico placed his hands on his hips, "We also uncovered what she had been up to since she was eight. She has a rap sheet put together from various cities around the country pining her for murder, desecrating graves, destruction of public property, breaking and entering, theft, credit fraud, and running from authorities. Her guardian Elias Lockwood wasn't the best influence."

"She was just a kid when she did all that!" Barry blurted as he read over the details. "How could the court hand her over to a criminal like that?"

"They didn't. She willingly left with him and his son after they paid her a visit in the foster home she was placed in. Looks like Jasmine falls off the grid though, days before she turned eleven. Then reappears here as J.D under Annette Matsamura's care. I believe that's when you met her, right?"

Raybeam nodded, a small smile nearly broke through his doleful expression. "Yeah, that was about five years ago but she only stuck around for a few months. I haven't seen her for four years after that. But in all that time she's been good! She's helped me many times."

Enrico scoffed, "Doesn't look like she's interested in helping you now."

Chris sighed and turned away from the document as if it was the most traumatic thing he ever read, "That doesn't matter now, we have orders. Captain Wesker wants Jasmine in our custody and safe before Umbrella finds her." He turned to Raybeam, "Any idea where she'd go? You should be familiar with her preferences and patterns."

"Uh, she usually hides out in cheap motels and pays in cash."

"You heard him, look for any Sally Mason recently checked into every motel in the area. She mentioned being in town for three hours so check-in time should be roughly four hours ago."

The all nodded and Chris directed his attention back to Raybeam, "We arranged with the precinct Chief to have the survivors stay in cells. We can't risk them infecting anyone else if we were to send them to another hospital. Rebecca will be organizing medical staff to care for them for as long as she can, but without an antidote I don't know how much time these people have."

"Right, I'll have my team work on finding an antidote."

"What are you going to do?"

"The nursery is still welded shut. I'll open the nursery then I'll try to track J.D from a different angle."

"All right."

Raybeam re-entered the hospital to unlock the nursery for the S.T.A.R.S crew and noticed a clean syringe on a metal table. _Ashley's going to need a sample to even get started on a cure. _He quickly stepped out to find a corpse and took a blood sample. _I hope she can do it in time, for J.D's sake._

"Ashley, I got a sample of the virus for you to examine. Think you can get an antidote from it?"

"I can try."

"Okay. I'll get the sample to you soon."

Raybeam flew out the nearest window just as the first helicopter full of survivors was dispatched. He waved at Brad and flew south towards a thick forest of green. He opted for the entrance hidden behind a strong waterfall and shook the water from his black locks, "Jeez it's cold!"

A petite blonde in a lab coat smiled, a sparkle in her blue eyes met with Raybeam as she handed him a towel, "You could've used the north entrance."

"This one is faster for me. Here," Raybeam presented Ashley with the sample. "How are you?"

"Well, recovering as I should."

"And Melody?"

"Snoring like a baby."

A brilliant grin lit Raybeam's face and they hurried down the steel corridors towards the central computer room. A giant monitor demanded attention of the room and Ashley resumed her position in the seat ahead of the screen, "Mind putting the sample in the scanner?"

Raybeam set the sample in a cradle for test tubes and the cradle slowly descended into a cylindrical table. A magnified image of the sample immediately appeared on the screen. Microorganisms roughly in the shape of a T swam through the plasma and attached itself to healthy blood cells, effectively damaging the cell. Suddenly a heavy _clang _echoed in the lab and an elevator descended to the computer room.

A tall, lean man entered with electric brown eyes, "Hey guys! Good to see you're both here. I have information on Tony." His voice relayed a sense of urgency.

"I'm afraid we have worse news than Tony, Jouse," Ashley sighed. "There was a viral outbreak in the hospital just now."

"But Ray took care of it?"

Raybeam nodded, "Yeah I helped contain the situation but it's not over. We still have to find a cure for the survivors. A special tactics service is taking care of them while we figure out an antidote."

Jouse's eyes narrowed as he looked to the screen, "Is that it? Why does it look familiar to me?"

"Yes," Ashley muttered as she typed notes on a screen off to the side. "The virus appears to kill anything it comes in contact with except for the brain stem. It produces a continuous charge, that's probably why they come back even after death, unless you destroy the brain."

"Wait, what? Zombies!" Jouse blurted out. Ray and Ashley exchanged concerned glances and Jouse's eyes darted between them. "What?"

"There's… something else."

Jouse folded his solid arms across the tactical vest he wore, "What?"

Ray sighed, "J.D's back in town… and she's infected."

His eyes nearly burst from the shock for only a moment then quickly is body tensed, "Where is she then? She should be here."

"I know. I'm going to see one of her old contacts and Officer Redfield has a team searching motels for her."

Jouse blinked, "Redfield?"

"Yeah, he's part of the special tactics service I was talking about."

Ashley turned to Jouse with a sympathetic expression, "And I'm going through Umbrella research to see if I can get any clues about how to cure this virus before it's too late."

"Umbrella? You guys are talking nonsense here those are…" He took a better look at the screen, "Are you fucking joking with me?!" Ray and Ashley jumped, startled by his reaction. "That's the fucking _T-virus_! J.D's infected with the _T-virus_! How?"

"How do you know it's called the T-virus?" Ashley asked.

"It got its name from the shape of the virus itself. Fuck! Guys, this is all from a video game."

"Are you sure?" Ray set his hand on Jouse's shoulder to calm him down. "That's impossible."

"How many times have we faced the impossible when J.D's around?" Ray sighed and stood back. "Have you heard of Resident Evil?"

"Uh, no."

"Really dude?" Jouse deadpanned then shook his head. "We need to get the antivirus to J.D _fast_. Considering what she is she's not going to mutate into just a zombie, and if she gets injured that's just going to make her mutate quicker."

"Shit, J.D was gunned down by the USS when she was bitten."

"Fuck! That's it. I'm going to look for her."

"Jouse, wait!" Ray gripped Jouse's arm before he left the lab. "I have that covered. You should stay here and keep Ashley safe for me. You have more knowledge of this mess than anyone here so you're a valuable source of information right now. Just help Ashley find a cure and I'll get J.D here in time."

"You better hurry then because this infection isn't going to stop at the hospital."

"What do you mean?"

"In the game it started out as a contained incident in a manor, but by three months it spread into a citywide outbreak that ended in the city's destruction. We have to strike fast before this gets worse."

Ray nodded in acknowledgement and looked to Ashley, "I'll be back soon."

"Be careful, Ray. You know how werewolves can be."

**A/n: Fitting useful information and entertainment into 2,000 words or less is bloody difficult let me tell ya'. Hope you like where this is going. And yay Jouse has arrived. Familiar faces ftw.**


	7. Chapter 7

**a/n: I promised to update Sunday and here it is. You better damn like this chapter cuz… well… just cuz. Okay that wasn't as assertive as it sounded in my head. Anyways, for me right now it's 9:40pm on a Sunday so I kept my end of the bargain. Now you fill yours and leave me a nice review to stay motivated. This chapter sort of escaped me a little with work and at-home distractions today. Still! Here it is. Hope you like. Oh! and the songs are just little verses I thought I'd share as the main driving point that inspired me to write the chapter. Doesn't really have an accurate correlation to the chapter itself except maybe some actions or J.D's/Ray's mentality during the chapter.**

_Change my attempt, good intentions_

_Crouched over, you were not there_

_Living in fear_

_But signs were not, really that scarce_

_Obvious tears_

_But I will not, hide you through this_

_I want you to help them_

_Please see the bleeding heart perched on my shirt_

_This time you try all that you can_

_Turning you red_

_Change my attempt, good intentions_

_Should I? Could I?_

**-10 Years**_**, Wasteland**_

**Chapter 7: Quite The Dangerous Pairs**

The silo towered high over Ray's head, memories of his one night inside the lead structure marked his life significantly. He strolled warily past the structure towards a large farmhouse. A cool breeze swept through the cornstalk, the lingering breath of winter chilled his tan skin just as his weight caused the wood stairs to creak with each step. Before Ray could knock on the screen door a slender woman with long, brown hair cascading over her shoulders looked to him with piercing, brown eyes.

"Took you long enough. I heard about St. Rafael's just now. What is it you need?"

Ray sighed, "Hi Lola, long time-"

"No see, yeah cut the crap and come inside."

_Are _all _supernatural women this temperamental? _Ray followed after Lola and kept a cautious eye on the roughhousing males crowding her farmhouse. Some turned their chins up as if to size the threat level of the unfamiliar male trespassing on their territory. Others completely ignored his presence and resumed eating or watching the news. Lola led Ray upstairs to her private study and immediately turned as she sat on her worn desk.

"So you're dealing with the 525-virus. Unfortunately, there's no cure for this but if you keep those sur-"

"Whoa, hold on a minute Lola. The 525-virus, I thought it was called the T-virus?"

Her head jerked back, "Who sold you _that_ piece of bullshit?"

"Jouse, he figured out that this is all from a video game."

Lola deadpanned then shook her head, "This isn't a video game, idiot."

"No, I know. But the virus, the corporation responsible for this, and the special tactics and rescue service being here is all leading to a game called Resident Evil."

"This happened before, Raybeam, in a small town in Kansas about three years ago." Lola walked towards a large, aluminum cabinet labeled blatantly as J.D.

"Is that-"

"Yeah, this is all I have on your little troublemaking friend. Wouldn't you know it, the bitch was involved in the outbreak in Kansas," she spat as she pulled out a thick file and tossed it on her desk. "She managed to contain the virus by wiping out everyone in that town. If you were to visit Banford, Kansas now all you'd see is desolation and a shit-load of corpses. This virus was created by Demons experimenting with ways to control people without possessing them. Seeing as how their mind-control methods didn't go so well with J.D the first time they want to perfect it before trying again."

_They want to control her mind again? Last time a demon tried that she… _Ray shook his head and closed his eyes as his hands balled into fists on his lap, "That's not why I'm here."

"Oh, so you're going to believe that idiot fri-"

"J.D is back in town and I need help tracking her."

Lola's gentle eyes quickly rounded with alarm, "She's here! Fuck, we're fucked! Ugh!" she gripped violently at her soft hair. "Of _course _the bitch would be near disaster days like these. We have to find her quick and eliminate her!"

"What? No! I'm asking for your help to _save _her. Why would-"

A guttural snarl erupted from her chest as she slammed her fists onto the table, "She's not the same girl you knew four years ago, dipshit! She's Reaper now, or did you miss the part where she _wiped an entire town dead_ on her own?"

"She's not a reaper yet. There's still good in her. I know her."

The fiery gleam of rage behind Lola's eyes slowly dissipated and she sighed, "You idealistic types. Ray, if you knew half of what's in this file cabinet you would want her dead too. Hell, _Lucas _would want her dead, and you know how he felt about her."

Ray took a pause as the mention of Lucas caused tightness in his chest. "I don't care what those papers have to say, I _know _she can be good. I just need your help tracking her down. A small task force from a corporation called Umbrella is hunting her down and she's infected with the virus. She needs our help. I all ready have help from S.T.A.R.S but we need to get to her as soon as possible."

She narrowed her eyes in a scrutinizing manner, "I know you still feel guilty about-"

"Lola, _please._ This has nothing to do with guilt. This is about all of us working together to rescue a good friend. I know you didn't get along but she _did _risk her life for you and your pack when you needed her."

"Okay! Okay, I'll help track her but nothing else. After we locate her you're on your damn own trying to reach out for her dead conscience."

"That's all I need."

Lola looked back to the file cabinet and sighed, "Fine, idiot."

J.D shimmied into a pair of black jeggins hastily and buckled a holster securely around her hips and thighs. _They're quicker than expected. _Chris's aroma set her nerves to an odd sensation of cold and hot as she hurried around her room to prepare. As the motel manager delayed them like she had paid him to she pulled a red tank top over her head and zipped up a black, turtleneck vest equipped with a few military toys at her disposal. She peeked out her window to be sure they hadn't set up a perimeter around the motel. _Bloody virus really slowed my arse down considerably. Well, at least I'm back to my old self so long as the virus remains dormant._

She opened the window and crawled out quickly before Chris' footsteps and of another companion slightly heavier than Chris approached her door. Quickly, she rushed towards the cover of nearby trees and checked her twin USP for ammunition. J.D's fingers twirled inhumanly quick as she braided her ridiculously long hair while she walked north-east. _According to the memories I siphoned from Bertha during my little puppet trick, they all receive orders from command at a building by the docks. Building 753 should be the last building on the dock. Infiltrate that building and I could find out who the hell is after me. _Could,_ being the operative word._

J.D sighed and her silhouette took the shape of a cloud of smoke as she swept through the woods like a violent breeze. Her figure floated swiftly across the briny air. Large cargo ships bellowed loudly as they sailed into their ports and seagulls clustered noisily around an unfortunate school of fish. Seawater curled away from the ships' paths and crashed into itself, released a ripple of salt and the gaminess of fish into the atmosphere as she re-materialized by a storage building.

Casually, she sauntered towards the edge of the building and peeked around the corner at building 753. She fixed her senses towards the building, beating hearts, shuffling papers, the pressing of keys on a computer, buzzing, footsteps, and conversations. J.D sighed and popped a piece of gum into her mouth, _It's a bleeding hive of worker bees in there. Oh well. I suppose I better get on with it. _She sauntered towards the building, wary of the oscillating camera, and quickly timed her movements to remain at its blind spot as she slid to a discreet metal cover in the ground. J.D lifted the cover effortlessly then jumped inside, into a steel corridor seemingly meant for secret evacuations. She hurried down the corridor, her boots hardly made a sound as she moved, and found a ladder that lead above sea level. She opened the hatch into a supply closet and closed the lid quietly.

Her nose twitched as she grimaced from the pungent odor of cleaners and bleaches then found a fuse box. J.D pulled out a compact laptop from her black backpack and attached wires to certain lines from the fuse box to the laptop. Complex algorithms and encryption set her screen to blink red, after a few keystrokes she hacked into the building's surveillance. Her heart nearly beat out of her chest when she noticed a familiar, masculine figure in black on the seventh camera feed.

_Still breaking and entering I see. Now why in bleeding hell are you in an Umbrella base? _She watched as he pressed his back to a wall and pulled a knife from the holster on his shoulder while his dark, brown eyes studied the guard patrolling the hall. _Better question, why haven't the alarms gone off if I can see you on camera? _J.D looked at the time on her computer and chuckled, _T__hey're on their lunch break. How convenient._

She plugged a flashdrive into the USB port and relayed images of a sister building's surveillance feed in real time as to not worry about being seen on camera. _Lucky for me all these damned buildings here have the same layout. _J.D spun on her heels and pulled out a kukri machete from the sheath on her lower back as she snuck out of the supply closet. As she stalked down the halls quietly she noted the dead guards on the floor. _Still have no reservations about killing these men huh? _J.D relaxed slightly as most of the guards in her intended route seemed to have been taken care of. _He doesn't have anything to do with Umbrella, so his presence here must mean Tony is involved in some way. Lovely, could King's Inc. and Umbrella Co. be partners?_

J.D quickly met with a steel, sliding door in need of a pass code to open. She punched in the appropriate code and smirked as the door slid open and the laser fences disarmed. _I really should thank Bertha for all her help. _She sauntered down the hall to the only door in the hall and noted the last door had a fingerprint scanner as well as a pass code. J.D's hand emitted a white current and the lock fizzled and smoked once she touched the panel. The door slid open and her eyes narrowed when she saw the rows of incubators housing familiar clones and Hunters in their watery interiors. _Bloody hell they _are _working together. There's no avoiding Ray once he figures this out._

"Well who do we have here?" a familiar, suave voice rang clearly from somewhere above. "Just invited yourself in have you?" J.D rolled her eyes and sighed, _Seriously even as a normal human the bloke can sneak up on me? _She turned to find Wesker at a catwalk above her in his S.T.A.R.S gear. "You just made my job considerably simple."

"Define simple," she pulled out her gun on the confident virologist.

"I was planning on searching for you myself. We have something to discuss."

"And that would be?"

"The terms of our partnership."

J.D arched an eyebrow and suddenly appeared on the catwalk as a cloud of smoke then rematerialized with her gun still fixed on his head, "We don't have much time before someone realizes the facility had been compromised."

"Hm, not as skilled as your reputation suggests?"

She deadpanned, "Not compromised by _me. _Spencer's enigmatic business partner has a tremendously persistent, resourceful enemy."

Wesker frowned, "Very well. We should move this meeting to more private quarters."

"You're not going to alert anyone?"

"Umbrella can handle its own affairs. I have more pressing matters to attend to. Follow me."

J.D shrugged and followed Wesker down a darkened hall.


End file.
